Visible photoluminescence and room temperature ferromagnetism in high In-content InGaN:Yb nanorods grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We report the growth of high indium content InGaN:Yb nanorods grown on c-plane sapphire (0001) substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction patterns recorded during and after the growth revealed crystalline nature of the nanorods. The nanorods were examined using electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The photoluminescence studies of the nanorods showed the visible emissions. The In composition was calculated from x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the photoluminescence spectroscopy. The In-concentration was obtained from photoluminescence using modified Vegard's law and found to be around 37% for InGaN and 38% for Yb (5 ± 1%)-doped InGaN with a bowing parameter b = 1.01 eV. The Yb-doped InGaN showed significant enhancement in photoluminescence properties compared to the undoped InGaN. The Yb-doped InGaN nanorods demonstrated the shifting of the photoluminescence band at room temperature, reducing luminescence amplitude temperature dependent fluctuation, and significant narrowing of excitonic emission band as compared to the undoped InGaN. The magnetic properties measured by superconducting quantum interference devices reveals room temperature ferromagnetism, which can be explained by the double exchange mechanism and magnetostriction.